The Wildlife of New England: A Viewer's Guide

Maine

� new hampshire ����� 1 14 2 4 10 3 13 15 12 16 17 5 9 8 6 7 95 95 1 1A 95 95 1 1 3 9 11 �. Acadia National Park �. Baxter State Park �. Bigelow Mountain Preserve �. Borestone Mountain Audubon Sanctuary �. East Point Sanctuary and Biddeford Pool �. Great Wass Island �. Machias Seal Island �. Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge: Petit Manan Division �. Monhegan Island ��. Moosehead Lake ��. Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge ��. Quoddy Head State Park ��. Rangeley Lake ��. Scarborough Marsh ��. Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge ��. Swan Island/Steve Powell Wildlife Management Area ��. Wells National Estuarine Reserve and Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge ����� maine 37 Acadia National Park U.S. National Park Service, 207-288-3338, www.nps.gov/acad closest town: Bar Harbor directions: From the junction of us 1 and me 3 in Ellsworth follow me 3 south through Trenton and across the causeway to Mount Desert Island. To reach the Hull’s Cove visitor center, continue to follow me 3 south toward Bar Harbor, then bear right on the well-marked park road. To get to Ellsworth from Interstate 95, from Augusta take me 3 east to us 1 north, from Bangor take us 1a east to us 1 north, or from the Brunswick/Portland area follow us 1 north via the more congested coastal route. A $5 (individual, one-day), $10 (seven-day), or $20 (seasonal) fee is charged at the Sand Beach entrance station. At Acadia National Park, low granite mountains rise abruptly out of the ocean, forming one of New England’s unique landscapes, rich in both scenery and natural diversity. Here visitors can explore tidal pools along rocky headlands and beaches, observe whales and sea ducks from ocean vistas, deer, foxes, and songbirds along upland forest trails, and snapping turtles in beaver ponds. The park and the adjacent ocean waters are home to more than 40 mammal species, 30 species of fish, and 300 varieties of birds. Established as the first eastern national park in 1919, Acadia encompasses nearly 50,000 acres on Mount Desert Island, Schoondic Peninsula on the mainland, as well as several offshore islands. Mount Desert Island, which is the largest island along the Maine coast, is divided for most of its length by Somes Sound, the only fjord on the Atlantic coast. It is forested with spruce-fir woodlands interspersed with groves of deciduous birch and aspens that sprouted following the great fire of October 1947, which burned more than 20,000 acres and destroyed many homes. Unquestionably Acadia’s most popular feature, Cadillac Mountain’s 1,530-foot granite summit is the highest point on the eastern seaboard, and the tallest of the island’s numerous low mountains and hills. The harsh coastal climate and historical forest fires denuded much of the summit vegetation, opening up 360-degree views of Frenchman Bay, Bar Harbor , the Porcupine Islands, and the Atlantic Ocean. viewing The steep east face of Champlain Mountain is a well-known nesting site for peregrine falcons. During the late spring and summer, they are often 38 the wildlife of new england visible at an observation area on the loop road north of the Sand Beach entrance booths. May and June generally offer the best viewing; by early summer the juveniles begin flying and may be observed in “training” flights along the cliffs, while the adults rest and recuperate from the incessant demands for food. The falcons are present during other months, but generally harder to observe. During the summer, rangers offer spotting scopes and other interpretive materials. Though all the park’s trails have birding potential, one of the best, and most easily accessible, woodland areas is that around the Sieur du Monts Spring, where wildflower gardens are maintained. Here colorful American redstarts, scarlet tanagers, warbling vireos, black-billed cuckoos, and other migratory songbirds are regularly observed; year-round northern residents include gray jays, boreal chickadees, black-backed woodpeckers , and spruce grouse. During spring and fall, watch for migrating raptors from the open summits, including Cadillac and Beech mountains. In winter , scan the rocks, coves, and offshore waters for purple sandpipers and winter ducks such as eiders, scoters, buffleheads, mergansers, and common loons, which head for the coast once the inland lakes freeze. Familiar seabirds include double-crested cormorants and black guillemots, which breed along most of the Maine coast. Mammals present in the forests include red foxes, porcupines, raccoons , eastern coyotes, snowshoe hares, and the...